Prepared by: Carl Toeneboehn

Grandfather Charles J Toeneboehn Sr maintained that he was from Hannover, Germany. At that time the entire district besides the city of Hannover appears to have been known as Hannover. This then is like saying you’re from Missouri or Maryland. It was not until the writer learned from the original records in Eivera Toeneboehn's possession that his baptismal transcript gave his birth-place as Tundern. In addition his marriage certificate listed his origin as Tinner by Hameln near Hannover. We could not locate Tundern on the available maps. In February 1986 great grandson Brian C Toeneboehn while on a business trip to Bremen, W, Germany obtained a set of detailed road maps of W. Germany. These maps not only showed Tundern as a suburb of Hameln but also showed a Tonebon See (lake) in the same area. Hameln is about 60 miles from Bremen. Having a free day over the weekend Brian drove to Hameln where he obtained a Hameln city map which Included the village of Tundern, the Tonebon See, Tonebon Weg and Tonebon Platz. Touring the area he also came upon a Tonebon youth-camp. Visiting the youth-camp he met boyscout leader Thomas Haeckel who spoke English. Thomas put Brian In touch via telephone with Else Tonebon In Hameln who also spoke English. Brian arranged to visit Else In her home that evening. Else contacted Friedrich Tonebon In Tundern who informed Else that he had a listing of the Tonebons going back to 1600. Friedrich Is not versed In English. Carl Toeneboehn followed up Brian's visit with letters to Else and Friedrich. Later Thomas Haeckel sent to Brian a German newspaper article on Count Brick (Graf Backstein) Julius Tonebon. This plus the listing from Friedrich and much correspondence with Else Is the basis for the material In the section 'Tonebon German / Swedish Roots". Else on a tour In 1987 visited the United States and Included St. Louis in her itinerary thus giving the author a personal contact as well.

The exact reasons which drove our European ancestors to undergo the extreme hardships which they endured emigrating to America are not known. No records or correspondence were passed down to succeeding generations. Nor were there any verbal discussions of the elders with their children about their ancestors. The author’s father died when he was a boy and his grandfather had also passed away before the author was old enough to be interested. There was the extenuating circumstance of the World War I with Germany which created an extreme anti-German feeling in the St. Louis area. Thus the next generation descendents of these immigrants were reticent to discuss their origin with their children for fear that someone might speak out of turn with strangers and thus create trouble for them. Note also they were theoretically at war with relatives which remained in Germany and were in a difficult position as to how to react. Should they return to Germany and help fight or remain loyal to their adopted country? So great was this ant-German feeling that in all probability if any correspondence or other documents existed, they were destroyed for fear of discovery so that they could not become evidence to be used against them.

The Weserbergland (Weser River Hill Country) of Saxony, Germany escaped the ravishes of the 30 Years War and also the draught. It was a very prosperous area at the turn of the 17th century. A Swedish soldier from the disbanded Swedish Army in 1639 - 40 no doubt thought that the Hameln area was a paradise with its fancy Renaissance style houses its Fortress wall with 22 towers surrounding the city and a pleasant climate. It is also possible that he was stranded in a foreign country. So he did what seems reasonable. He married a native girl and started farming just outside the city limits. According to legend of descendants this soldier was Hinrich Toineboil. (Note: due to the variations of German script this could easily be an error in copying. Thus it could have been Tonebon). The Tonebons prospered in this area known now as Tundern.

Two centuries and six generations later the situation had changed drastically. Several successive years of draught ruined the farm industry; in addition foreign competition reduced the chief industry of weaving linen fabrics to a dismal state. The weaving industry was mostly a hand operation in the homes and was hurt by the powered looms of the foreign factories. Therefore the area was poverty stricken.

The following is a brief discussion of the conditions which existed in Germany during the period prior to and at the time of the mass emigration to America and is based upon the material in the book 'Zion On The Mississippi' published by the Concordia Publishing House of St. Louis, Missouri. This book gives a detailed account of the organized emigration of 545 Saxons under Dr Stephan to the St.Louis area in 1839, eventually becoming the founders of the Lutheran Missouri Synod. It is recommended that the reader obtain a copy of this book and read it in its entirety since it reveals the social and economic conditions, also the hardships and suffering the immigrants endured both in their homeland and after their arrival in America.

The first 50 years of 19th century Germany was noted for the Napoleonic wars and the Congress of Vienna. Politically, Germany was in a turmoil after 1830 with the struggle on one hand by the advocates for a Nationalistic Germany and on the other by the Liberals versus the Conservatives. The Nationalist movement failed at the Congress of Vienna leaving thirty-nine self - governing political units. A Confederation of these units was formed but the Confederation did little to affect the political situation.

The State Church went through four major phases. Syncretism, Pietism, AufKlArung, and Rationalism. After the Reformation there were numerous Protestant sects each with differences of Interpretation of basic Doctrine. Syncretism (the reconciliation of conflicts) was a movement which advocated the union of the Christian denominations on such common ground as could be found. Lutheranism In combating syncretism drifted into formalism and fell prey to Pietism. Pietism emphasized Christian life at the expense of Christian doctrine. The main effect of Pietism was a renewed emphasis on the study of the Bible, revival of dynamic preaching, a high degree of emotionalism in religion, renewed lay activity, abandonment of the doctrinal forms of old Lutheran theology, and the stressing of moral life and practical philanthropy. The Intellectual influence was the Aufklgrung (elucidation). The remarkable achievements of natural science by inductive reasoning led to the assumption that the universe was governed by immutable natural laws which reason could uncover. The light of reason was thought to be dawning that would dispel all of the evils of the world. On the basis of Aufklarung a new approach to all problems developed, which led in the field of politics first to enlightened despotism and ultimately to the French Revolution, and in the field of economics to the theories of Adam Smith. The attempt to apply this new line of reasoning was called Rationalism. The aim of Rationalism was to make theological truth self evident and to prove ft. The implication clearly was that if it could not be proved, it was not accepted. The Orthodox critics predicted that this reasonableness would lead to the denial of revealed theology and excluded the idea of miracles which to the Rationalists were violations of natural laws. Divine activity was relegated to the beginning of things, that is, the establishment of these same laws, whose operation now governed the universe independent of a God. This became the basis for a new Verunft-religion (common sense religion). Rationalism penetrated every part of German society especially the Universities and the educated leaders of the Church. The strongest force against Rationalism was the laymen's urge for a deeper religious feeling whose various movements can be grouped collectively into the Erweckung (awakening). The common man could not delve deeply into the mysteries of metaphysical speculation. He not only did not care to nor did he try. Many people preferred faith which they could feel to reason which they could not understand. This was not the only downfall of Rationalism, the excesses of the French Revolution which in part was the outcome of the Aufklarung cast discredit on the entire intellectual movement. A wave of Romanticism gave a strong disposition to return to traditional institutions in religion and a revival of the effort for the union of the Protestant Churches.

Meanwhile numerous isolated orthodox pastors and communities throughout Germany had survived the era of Rationalism. They were known by a variety of names: Old-Lutherans, Orthodoxists, New Orthodoxists, or by more personal designations, such as the Stephanites which later were the founders of the Missouri Synod.

The State dictated the type and order of the Church Services and the Doctrine preached. It was not Orthodox, but mildly Realistic and of course embraced all of the Protestant Sects regardless of differences, but it was still called Lutheran. The clergymen were in a difficult position. In order to hold their positions as Pastor of a Congregation the Clergymen were required by law to proclaim Doctrine which was contrary to their conviction and belief. The laymen had no recourse. The adherents to the teachings of Martin Luther clashed with State control. Their strong religious feelings left no other recourse but to leave the country. Thus as individuals or in groups emigrated to America where there was freedom to worship as their conscience dictated.

A strong influencing factor was the glowing report of Gottfried Duden about life in America which was widely circulated in Germany after his return from a two year stay in Missouri. Duden from his experience as Administrator of State for the district of Muhlheim, Germany was convinced that most of the crimes he was required to prosecute resulted from poverty caused by overpopulation. Emigration appeared to be the solution. He decided to study the possibility of establishing a German Settlement in the United States. He sailed for America with a 31 year old friend on 8 June 1824.

Gottfried Duden and his companion Eversmann after landing at Baltimore Md. on 14 August 1824 bought an open spring wagon and supplies and headed west for St.Louis Mo., traveling by way of Wheeling W.V., Chillicothe, Cincinnati O., and Louisville Ky. It was Duden's belief that the emigrants of Europe would have to direct themselves to those regions where the mass of natives is also seeking new homesteads. He also held the view that the Europeans should use these natives as their models in the establishment of their new settlements. He regarded ft therefore a gross error, to take as a goal of his journey those regions which lie east of the Allegheny Mountains, where the good land was quite expensive. Their journey was relatively uneventful but served as a helpful introduction to Duden's studies beyond the Mississippi River.

Soon after the man reached St.Louis late in October 1824, Duden set about carrying out the next phase of his plans, that of becoming a settler so that he could better judge the experience of his fellow Germans. Their search for farms was directed to the lower Missouri River region, which, as Duden later explained In his report much of the earlier Anglo-American settlement had bypassed, and where tracts of fertile valley or prairie land could still be purchased from the government or from settlers at moderate prices. In the course of their search they were directed to Mal.Nathan Boone, the son of Daniel Boone and a surveyor of government lands, who was living in the Femme Osage Valley of St.Charles County Mo. Maj.Boone spent several days showing his visitors around the countryside. Then, according to a story published by Friedrich Muench In 1870, when Duden and Eversmann started back to St.Louis, they lost their way, traveling west rather than east They came upon the cabin of Jacob Haun, a Pennsylvanian of German descent, who shrewdly recognized that *he might 'make! something off these men." He persuaded them to buy adjoining tracts nearby and offered to shelter and feed them at his home until they had established themselves on their own land. By this chance meeting, the locality for Duden's studies was chosen and the center for the first major German settlement In Missouri was established. (See map in chapter 4)

Duden reported that Eversmann's farm totaled about 1300 acres and his own about 270 acres. Part of Duden's land was purchased from the government at $1.25 an acre and the balance from Jacob Haun. Some, " not all, of Duden's farm was in a valley worn by the meandering course of Lake Creek (near Marthasville) through the upland bordering the Missouri River and its flood-plane. The soil was fertile, the area was sheltered, and even today the natural beauty of the place that so captivated Duden is apparent

Duden boarded with the Hauns during the winter, impatiently waiting for spring, when improvements could be made on his farm, and where he had chosen as the site for his house 'the level surface of a hill which rises gently from the rather broad valley of Lake Creek.'The winter of 1824-1825 was extraordinarily mild. Spring came early, and when the sap began to rise in the sugar-maple trees his American neighbors joined in the communal work of sugaring off. Not until that annual rite was finished was he able to get workmen to start construction. Toward the end of March a log 'hut, as I am obliged to call my place of abode," had been finished. At about the same time Duden also began construction of a more comfortable log house, but after the wails were raised and the roof constructed, the house was never finished. Within a few months he added a porch to his hut and had acquired the necessary furniture and kitchen utensils in St.Louis. An elderly cook looked after his domestic needs, and the field work was done by a young man in his neighborhood. Whether he followed German or local custom in laying out his farm is not clear. My yard is about one and a half acres in size,' he wrote, 'the adjoining pasture about two and one-half acres, and the field four acres. Everything is well fenced in, and made tillable in the customary manner.' Elsewhere he mentions that his vegetable garden was within a few paces of his porch. His field and garden plantings included corn, some cotton for experimental purposes, potatoes, beans, peas, cucumbers, pumpkins, melons, carrots, and spinach, 'though victuals of this kind can be bought at a low price from my neighbors.' The forest grew near his house and covered most of his farm.

Duden was a spectator of life in Missouri rather than a participant. He did not exert himself. He did not realize that many tasks performed with such apparent ease by the sturdy backwoodsmen he had hired to do the work were in reality extremely difficult unless one has been trained for such duties from early youth.

On 12 March 1827, Duden left his farm to return to Germany, stimulated by what had been for him an idyllic experience and favorably impressed by the possibility of a German settlement in America. Two years later his Report appeared just as the Auswanderung to America was beginning to revive. The Report had the color, timing, and literary qualities to make it the most popular and influential description of the United States to appear during the first half of the 19th century. For decades it stimulated discussion, essays, articles, and books and was a prime factor in drawing many German families, particularly among educated groups, into the lower Missouri River region.

The economic conditions in Saxony were poor at the beginning of the century. Just prior to the Saxon emigration to the United States the industrialization of Germany was still in its uninteresting stages. Far behind her future industrial and commercial rivals, Germany was still an agrarian territory with a predominantly agricultural economy. Such industry as was carried on was in a rather primitive state. In general, Germany was a rural country and its industries were home industries. It was a poor country with very low wages and small incomes. A glance at Saxony and its textile industry, important for both the country at large and the emigrants of 1838, will serve to illustrate these points.

Although Saxony was one of the more advanced states in the very backward Germany of the 1830's, Saxony still retained the gild system even after 1840. The gild system was similar to our craft unions but the gild controlled the industry and its development (see chapter 9 for a description of the gild system). As late as 1846 it was considered a mark of progress that there was nearly as many cotton looms in the factory as in the home, but even of those in the factories by far the greater number were handlooms. Only a fraction of the land was owned by the nobility, and small individual holdings were the rule. So the workers, besides being employed in weaving, were frequently doing some farming as well. In the case of the linen weavers, the proportion engaged in agriculture was as high as 80 per cent However, Saxony's somewhat more rapid Industrialization did not mean that she had attained any independence economically. In, 1834, in accord with an agreement with Prussia during the previous year, Saxony joined the Zollverein. (customs union) This move was a measure of economic self-defense, necessitated by the fact that the Middle German Customs Union, which Saxony had helped to found on Dec.8,1828, was breaking up. Saxony had to prevent her economic Isolation; so she capsulated to her more powerful neighbor. In fact, Saxony's Industrialization at this time meant rather that she experienced the effects of the Industrial revolution much sooner than the rest of Germany. Britain's superior mechanization of manufacture and her domination of the world market combined with the unequal competition of cheap American cotton, reduced Saxony's weavers to a pitiable state.

Industrial troubles in Saxony were aggravated by a decade of agricultural crises which had their beginning in the early eighteen-twenties. After a particularly hard winter from 1829 to 1830 the suffering of the people had become so acute that they attracted the attention of the government During the ensuing Investigation of the country's economic status a pastor from the stricken areas testified as follows about the condition of the people:

"’All houses and other establishments are mortgaged. Much property is being auctioned off and sold. They are not able to pay taxes and parish dues. Poverty prevails not only among the unskilled and day laborers, but also among the crafts and the peasantry.' The suffering of the people were termed 'almost Indescribable.' The poorer classes were subsisting largely on potatoes, when these were available; often they were not to be had. Begging was rare, stealing more frequent The only ready relief from this misery was provided by a potato whiskey, which was described as the ‘most wretched’."

It is not surprising when confronted by such economic circumstances, many people looked about them for an escape from their native land, as a means of survival, or that others, who wished to emigrate for different reasons, found little in the economic situation to hold them.

The Tonebon family emigration was prompted by economic reasons and probably the frequent flooding of the Tundern area by the Weser River. The Maschmeier families were probably motivated by religious reasons since they were part of group which founded New Melle and St. Paul's Lutheran Church. We have no inputs on the Reim family in this regard.